In this episode of the Society of Actuaries Research Insights Podcast, host Kara Clark, Senior Research Actuary at the SOA Research Institute, is joined by Al Klein, Principal and Consulting Actuary at Milliman, and Erik Pickett, Actuary and Chief Content Officer at Club Vita. Together, they discuss Chapter 10: Catastrophes from the paper Long-Term Drivers of Future Mortality, authored by Yair Babad and Al Klein for the 2023 Living to 100 Symposium.

This episode dives into the complex and varied effects that catastrophes—natural, man-made, and biological—have on mortality. Topics include wildfires, droughts, war, terrorism, pandemics, and the challenges actuaries face when modeling these unpredictable yet impactful events.

This is the final chapter in the podcast series based on this important research paper. To explore the full series and access the original report, visit the landing page: https://www.soa.org/resources/research-reports/2025/longterm-drivers-futuremort-podseries/

🎧 Tune in to gain key takeaways on how to incorporate catastrophic risk into future mortality projections.